
014 18C 



TX 173 
.P35 
1921 
Copy 1 



UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE 

DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 285 



Washington, D. C. 



July, 1923 



STATUS AND RESULTS OF HOME 
DEMONSTRATION WORK 

NORTHERN AND WESTERN STATES, 1921. 
FLORENCE E. WARD, 

In Charge Extension Work with Women, Office of Extension Work, in the North and 
West, States Relations Service. 



Nature and purpose of home demon- 
stration work 1 

r>evelopment of the work 2 

rresent status 3 

Home maJcers as coworkers 4 

Agents and funds 5 

Living standards raised 6 

Activities of home demonstration 

agents 7 

Foods- and nutrition 7 

Clothing 9 

Home management 12 

Health 14 



Page. 
Activities of home demonstration 
agents — Continued. 

Food production l-o 

Food preservation 17 

House planning and furnishing. 17 

Community enterprises 19 

Specialists 19 

Work with boys and girls 21 

Urban work 22 

Qualifications of home demon- 
stration workers 23 

Advancement of the work 24 



NATURE AND PURPOSE OF HOME DEMONSTRATION WORK. 

Extension work for the home is a part of the nation-wide sys- 
tem of extension service carried on by State agricultural colleges in 
cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture un- 
der authority granted by Congress in the cooperative agricultural 
extension act of May 8, 1914, known as the Smith-Lever Act. Tlii^ 
work includes practical home and group demonstrations in every 
phase of home economics and agriculture that directly contributes 
to the efficiency, comfort, health, and economic advancement of the 
rural home. 

It is carried on by home demonstration agents who, though trained 
in home economics, are not specialists but serve as organizers, ad- 
visers, and cooperators with housewives of the county which con- 
stitutes their working unit. Here, together with the county agricul- 
tural agent, the club agent, and specialists from the college, intensive 
service is extended which has as its aim the advancement of economic, 
educational, and social rural home life. 
50340°— 23 1 - • 



^it>.Wfli58 



2 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. ' K/S^ 

This work is now organized to conform to the idea of community 
self-determination and leadership in assisting farming people to 
unify community forces in a common program of home work, train- 
ing volunteer leaders, and developing neighborhood groups to carry 
out projects, thus providing a channel through which the State 
agricultural colleges and the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture may give such assistance and cooperation in home-making 
Ijroblems as the farming people -may need and desire. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORK. 

December, 1921, brought to a close the seventh year of home demon- 
stration work as carried on cooperatively in the Northern and West- 
ern States. It also marked the beginning of a new period in the 
development of extension work with the home, resulting from a le- 
organization along broader lines of the Office of Extension Work of 
the States Relations Service. 

A brief review of the history of the work, therefore, may be of 
interest at this time. Long before the passage of the Smith-Lever 
Act women pioneers in the home economics movement who were con- 
nected with State agricultural colleges were meeting with farm 
women and girls at farmers' institutes, extension schools, and other 
gatherings, and offering to the farming people in the communities 
the resources of the colleges along home-making lines, thus laying a 
foundation for later accomplishments in extension work. 

Thoughtful men and women seeing the value of this limited service 
visioned what the farm home might become if the resources of the 
laboratory could be linked with its everyday problems, and if the 
accumulated judgment and skill of practical housewives could be 
pooled and made available to all. Sentiment for such work was 
expressed in the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act, which inaugu- 
rated a far-reaching service for the farm home, recognizing the part 
it plays in an efficient agricultural program. 

During the first two years after the passage of the act the produc- 
tion phase of the extension program was given special consideration, 
with the limited funds available, and it was not until the spring of 
1916 that home demonstration work as a cooperative enterprise was 
introduced in the Northern and Western States with the appointment 
of an agent in Sullivan County, N. H. This appointment was soon 
followed by others in Erie and Otsego Counties, N. Y., Cheshire 
County, N. H., Hampden County, Mass., and Waukegan County, 111. 
Some of these counties previously conducted work of the same general 
character on State funds, the first county home work of which we 
have record in the Northern and Western States being that in Erie 
County, N. Y., which began in August, 1914. 

By June 30, 1917, the number of home demonstration agents in 
the Northern and Western States had reached 28, with about an equal 
distribution as to number in the Far West, Middle West, and East. 
There were at that time 542 county agricultural agents, 437 agricul- 
tural specialists, and 50 home economics specialists in the same States. 
While the State colleges had in those days no definite plans for con- 
ducting the work of home demonstration agents, the purpose which 
prompted their appointment was a s.ervice to the rural homes along 

DEC 111929 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, i92i. 3 

similar lines to that extended by the county agricultural agents to 
the farms. 

The World War brought about a rapid increase in the number of 
home demonstration agents during 1918, when 790 women were placed 
on the rolls of the State colleges and the United States Department 
of Agriculture, supported largely by the war emergency act, which 
provided for national security and defense by stimulating agricul- 
ture and facilitating the distribution and conservation of agricul- 
tural products. The part played by these agents during the war was 
important, since they were in many cases the only paid trained work- 
ers in home activities cooperating with Federal and other agencies, 
and assisting housewives in their part in the war program. Of these 
790 agents, 117 were, as a war measure, placed in cities and urban 
communities. Wliile this work proved of great value as an emer- 
g'ency measure, the pressure of miscellaneous war demands gave 
little opportunity for demonstrating its real character or for build- 
ing an organization for its permanent functioning. 

At the close of the war, when the emergency funds were withdrawn, 
the number of appointments was reduced to those agents whose work 
had become organized and established and whose support was partly 
provided by local funds. On June 30, 1919, there were 209 home 
demonstration agents and 69 State workers in the Northern and West- 
ern States; on June 30, 1920, there was a total number of 286 work- 
ers; and on June 30, 1921, there was a well-organized force of 304 
workers. 

The following table shows the development of the work to date 
and the amount of funds from all sources expended for its promotion : 

Number of home demonstration workers cooperatively employed June 30 each 
year and total funds expended. 



Item. 


1916 


1917 


1918 


1919 


1920 


1921 




4 
$7, 383. 33 


28 
$50,042.33 


803 
$1,270,675 


609 
$1,593,400 


286 
$747,360 


304 




$947. 407 







The diagram (Fig. 1) shows the slow development of the work 
at the beginning, with a sharp curve upward when the war pointed 
out the necessity for home efficiency in conservation; the decided 
reduction in the work in one year, when State and Federal funds 
were diminished; and the present number of 304 workers, which 
represents a group of mature, well-trained women whose work has 
become a stable and permanent factor of the organized life of the 
counties where they have been placed in direct response to local 
demand, and where farm women are organized and taking aggres- 
sive leadership in promoting the work. 

PRESENT STATUS. 

An analysis of extension work with women, based upon field ob- 
servations and annual reports, shows clearly that in spite of neces- 
sary retrenchments which have prevented substantial expansion, ad- 
vance has been made, not only in organization, but in actual ac- 
complishments measured in terms of improved standards of living 



Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



in the more than 22,000 communities reached. These results of the 
united efforts of home demonstration agents and specialists in the 
various phases of home economics and agriculture, which far sur- 
pass those of last year, were made possible through increased in- 
terest and activity on the part of farm women themselves, wider 
use of project leaders, and more general establishment of home 
demonstrations for the improvement of home practices. 

900 



800 
700 
600 
^OO 
^00 
300 
200 
/OO 











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Fig. 1. — Growth of home demonstration work in the Northern and 
Western States, 1914-1921. 

HOME MAKERS AS COWORKERS. 

Although the increase in the number of workers was slight, rec- 
ords show that there are practically 35,800 more women members 
of extension organizations in 1921 than in 1920; that 4,864 new 
communities adopted projects, with an increase of 8,993 project 
leaders ; and that 37,135 more demonstrations were established, with. 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 5 

an additional 2,119 training classes for leade7^ship. Below are 
comparative figures: 

Comparative figures showing increase in home demonstration work in 1921. 



Total number. 



Average per 
com m unity. 



Average per 
county. 



1920.1 1921.1 



Counties with agents 

Women members of extension organizations. 

Communil y groups adopting projects 

Project leaders 

Home demonstrations estalilished 

Families adopting suggestions 



251 
86, 725 
17,399 
17,379 
71,071 
108,417 



267 
122, 521 
22, 263 
26, 372 
108, 206 
219,765 



459 

83 

405 



1 December of each year. 

One of many instances of the development of local leadership 
among women is noted in a report from New York, which states 
that, although extension instruction through local leadership was 
tisecl in only one project at the beginning of the year, it had spread 
to 28 counties in the clothing work, to 9 counties in the nutrition 
work, and to several counties in health, recreation, and civics. From 
practically all of the counties it was reported that local women were 
showing leadership to a much more marked degree than in the past. 
What this will do toward formulating sound and vital programs of 
work and toward carrying them out is apparent. Not only is the 
agent's time being freed for constnictive planning to a greater ex- 
tent than in the past, but there is the impetus which comes from the 
understanding and enthusiasm of coworkers. 

It was reported that the assumption of responsibility by the local 
women was the most outstanding feature of the development of home 
demonstration work in New Jersey during the year 1921. • 

AGENTS AND FUNDS. 

In December, 1920, there were 251 home demonstration agents in 
the Northern and Western States. In December, 1921, this number 
had increased to 267 in 31 States, two States having no home dem- 
onstration agents. The following 15 States added a total of 38 
agents during the year : Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, 
Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North 
Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Ohio, adding 
the largest number, introduced the work in eight counties. Four 
States made no change in the number of agents. In 12 States the 
number was decreased by 22, discontinuance of the work being due 
in most cases to necessary economies in the expenditure of public 
funds. Reports from these States indicate that the work was not 
only appreciated, but heartily indorsed by the people, who now look 
forward to its establishment on a permanent basis. 

Total expenditures for home demonstration work during the fiscal 
year ending June 30, 1921, were $947,497, $350,082 being from Federal 
sources, $312,099 from State sources, and $285,316 from sources within 
the counties. This is an increase of approximately $200,000 over the 



6 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

expenditures of the previous fiscal year. A greater part of this 
amount was absorbed by increased compensation to agents, improved 
office equipment, and the provision for upkeep of automobiles, all of 
which items made for efficiency in the work. 

Funds amounting to an approximate total of $1,393,327 have been 
appropriated for carrying on home demonstration work for the fiscal 
year 1921-22, divided as follows: From Federal sources, $419,054; 
from State sources, $361,628 ; and from sources within the counties, 
$612,645. This is an increase of approximately 18 per cent over total 
funds appropriated for the previous year, the difference being in 
Federal and county funds. Twenty-one of the States show an in- 
crease in county appropriations for home demonstration work. 

LIVING STANDARDS RAISED. 

Living standards were raised in more than 22,000 communities 
through various lines of work, as shown in the following table : 

Cmnparative study of various projects. 



Project. 



Community 
groups adopt- 
ing practices. 



Project leaders. 



Demonstra- 
tions 
established. 



1920. 1921 



Families 
adopting 



Clothing 

Nutrition 

Home management 

Health 

Food preservation 

Food production 

House planning and furnishing 
Community enterprises , 

Total 



4,983 

l'281 
1,315 
1,678 
1,290 
404 
762 



8,508 
3,411 
1,411 
1,493 
1,076 
1,241 
483 
1,114 



4,672 
3,033 
1,092 
1,268 
1,325 
1,354 
352 
674 



10,519 
3,417 



19, 271 
16, 203 
5,461 
5,423 
14,2% 
5,330 
1,295 



55,527 
15, 807 

12; 088 
6,181 
4,291 

'443 



28,247 
21, 249 
8,224 
5,512 
16,289 
8,852 
1,167 



18,737 



13,770 



102,223 



85,272 
36, 185 

9,742 
21, 737 
23,812 
10,790 

3,136 



This table indicates by projects the increase in the volume of work 
accomplished during 1921, as compared with 1920, as to (1) number 
of communities interested, (2) number of project leaders carrying 
on the projects, (3) number of home demonstrations established, and 
(4) number of families adopting suggestions. It also gives significant 
information by communities as to types of work chosen and carried 
to completion by the farm women in cooperation with the home 
demonstration agents employed. 

Work reported was principally along lines of foods and nutrition, 
clothing, convenience in home equipment, skill in household tasks, 
business efficiency in handling funds for the maintenance of the home, 
health, beauty, and comfort through the improvement of home build- 
ings, home furnishings and surroundings, community spirit, recrea- 
tion, and citizenship. The table following shows the number of 
communities carrying on work in all lines. 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 7 

Projects in home demonstration work by communities. 



Project. 



Number of communities adopting 
practices. 



Eastern. Central. Western. Total 



Organization 

Food production: 

Gardening 

Poultry 

Dairying. 

Food preservation: 

Canning 

Drying 

Brining 

Storing 

Nutrition: 

Food selection 

School lunches 

Child feeding 

Milk feeding demonstrations 

Boys' and girls' club work 

Health: 

Chad care 

Home nursing 

Sanitation 

Clothing: 

Selection of textiles and clothing . 

Garment making 

Renovating 

Millinery 

Dress forms 

Home management: 

Home accounts 

Equipment 

Methods 

House planning and furnishing: 

Building and remodeling 

Decorating and furnishing 

Planning home grounds 

Community enterprises: 

Community centers 

Cooked food 

Canning 

Drying 

Demonstration 

Milk stations , 

Cooperative buying associations. . 

Cooperative selling associations. . 



Community rest rooms. 

Community study tours 

Community recreation centers 

Commimity or civic improvement. . . 
CommHinity library or reading circle. 
Cooperative laundries 



1,179 



426 

1,243 

259 

289 

474 



1,692 
445 
377 
801 



418 

277 

1,009 
1,884 
.541 
1,808 
3,166 

572 
742 
97 

128 
268 
87 

62 
10 
9 
4 
22 
15 
128 
39 
10 
99 
112 
219 
173 



ACTIVITIES OF HOME DEMONSTRATION AGENTS. 

All projects show a gradual shifting of emphasis from the more 
fragmentary and isolated aspects of subjects to their broader and 
more practical lines. For example, from phases of work in food 
preservation and preparation have unfolded the foods and nutrition 
program, which relates itself to the whole science of healthful living. 
No longer is clothing considered as a means only of meeting the im- 
mediate needs of the family wardrobe, but rather as a permanent 
help to the farm woman in handling with efficiency her whole prob- 
lem of clothing the family, as this relates itself to economy, comfort, 
beauty, and health through a mastery of the clothing budget. 

FOODS AND NUTRITION. 

Some phases of the broad subject of foods and their uses in rela- 
tion to human efficiency have been considered in connection with the 



8 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

program of every State. This is an encouraging fact in view of the 
prevalence of malnutrition existing in all classes of homes. The 
matter of choice and preparation of food as a means of building 
strong bodies, while in some measure dependent upon income, is far 
more dependent upon information in the hands of home makers. 
Food selection, a better balanced diet, feeding the preschool child, 
food resources and food supply, which include gardening, poultry 
raising, and dairying, the substituting of home-grown foods for those 
which if purchased would reduce cash resources for meeting other 
family needs, are parts of the present program for the maintenance 
of healthful men and women and the bodily development of grow- 
ing boys and girls. As a direct result of the nutrition demonstration 
last year in a Massachusetts town 2,300 children were benefited. 
Milk campaigns carried on in seven counties in the State of Wash- 
ington where there are home demonstration agents reached 55,638 
children, and 3,486 children were reported as having begun to drink 
milk daily as a result of the campaign, while 5,658 increased the 
amount of milk consumed. 

The following table shows that more than 14,000 farm families 
changed their food habits during the year as the result of extension 
work in nutrition, and indicates the growing importance attached to 
a properly balanced diet: 



Results of foo4 ■selection mark. 



Eastern. 


Central. 


Western. 


Number. 


Number. 


Number. 


4,023 


9,763 


917 


53 


64 


22 


377 


426 


94 


338 


478 


108 


907 


2,810 


609 



Total. 



Families changing food habits. . . 

Counties adopting practices 

Gommumties adopting practices. 

Project leaders „ . 

Demonstrations established 



Number. 
14, 703 



The following tables show that while the schools in which hot 
lunches were established as a part of the extension program decreased 
from 2,930 during 1920 to 2,654 during 1921, the children enrolled 
in nutrition groups increased to 4,752, indicating that the school 
lunch is gradually ceasing to be a demonstration as it becomes an 
established part of school life and that nutrition work as an extension 
activity is taken more and more into homes, where considerable suc- 
cessful work in child feeding was carried on this year : 

Results of school lunch work. 



Item. 


Eastern. 


Central. 


Western. 


Total. 




Number. 
1,055 
831 
23, 582 
37, 431 
7,971 

2' 969 

4,478 

46 

262 

184 


Number. 
1,447 
1 556 
30, 691 
37, 311 
4,349 

3; 643 
4,968 
79 
1,243 
1,079 


Number. 

428 

267 

16, 415 

10,415 

3,602 

1,450 

2,247 

3,859 

37 

187 

147 


Number. 
2,930 


^ i92i::; ;■ 


2 654 


Children reached: 1920 


70,688 
85,157 


1921 




15, 822 
10, 592 
8 859 


1921.. 


Children showing imnrovement in health: 1920 


snowmg improvement m neaitn. i9^u. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 


13,305 
162 




fSoTTiTnnnitipR qrlopting prfiptipAs^ 199,1 




Project leaders, 1921. ."." .'. . 


l'410 







status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 9 

Results of child feeding ivork. 



Item. 


Eastern. 


Central. 


Western. 


Total. 




Number. 

205 

1,736 

673 
796 
1,421 
20 
63 
58 
189 


Number. 

407 

1,994 

4,564 

6,440 

6 385 

41 

259 

329 

1,638 


Number. 

578 

1,022 

1,010 

1,232 

1,252 

23 

123 

115 

949 


Number. 
1,190 




4,752 


Families improving child feeding: 

Families 


6,247 


Children 


8,468 




9,058 


Counties adopting practices . 


84 


Communities adopting practices 


445 


Project leaders 


502 




2,676 







CLOTHING. 

No other project shows so general a use of local leadership or so 
large a volume of work accomplished as does the project of clothing, 
which was carried on in every State. 

A survey ^ made in 1919 of 10,000 representative farm homes in 
the Northern and Western States revealed the fact that 92 per cent 
of farm women did all or part of their own sewing. Adding to 
this the responsibility of the selection, care, and renovation of cloth- 
ing, it will be seen that clothing the family is one of the major 
problems of the farm woman and may, in a measure, explain why 
26 per cent of all home demonstrations reported were clothing 
demonstrations. This project has so broadened its scope as to de- 
velop on the part of farm women real mastery and skill along such 
lines as principles of construction and design, the use of a clothing 
budget, and general efficiency, and judgment in matters of beauty, 
health, and economy as they pertain to clothing. 

Tlie popular demand for the making of the dress form, an ac- 
tivity which has been carried on in practically every county employ- 
ing a home demonstration agent and in many counties without 
such agentSj has been encouraged not only because of its value as a 
labor and time saver in home dressmaking, second only perhaps to 
the sewing machine, but because of the way in which this inex- 
pensive bit of equipment has served as an opening wedge for local 
leadership, focusing the attention upon the idea that selected women 
may be trained by specialist or agent to carry forward in a county 
some definite phase of the project without the constant supervision 
of the agent. A companion piece of work has been the alteration 
of standard commercial patterns to make foundation patterns or 
guide patterns fitted to individual measure, which may be used to 
cut many types of under and outer garments. 

All phases of the clothing work were planned for on an organized 
project basis in Vermont, and it is reported that there were more in- 
stances of leaders taking the responsibility of actually making demon- 
strations than in any other project. Every county in Ohio in which 
clothing work was done is reported asking for additional work, and 
it is anticipated that the spread of influence will be greatly increased 
as soon as a group of 160 local leaders complete their training and 
carry the work to their communities. Delaware reported the largest 
amount of work had been done in the clothing project. Also the 

1 U. S. Dept. Agr. Circ. 148, The farm woman's problems. 
50340^—23 2 



10 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

clothing project demanded more attention than any other piece of 
work carried on by home demonstration agents in Iowa and was 
presented in 669 communities in 23 counties, 308 training schools 
being held, and 1,491 local leaders secured and trained. From Maine 
it was reported that clothing was the project on which women were 
most anxious for help, as they do a large part of their own dressmak- 
ing as well as sewing for the family. The State leader reports also 
that it was easy to start other phases of the work from the dress-form 
meeting (Fig. 2) . The woman who is too stout has that fact emphati- 
cally brought out and may be interested in correcting her diet. The 
proper height of working surfaces was brought up in one meeting. 




Pig. 2. — A demonstration in making the dress form. 

A woman who had had a dress form made stood looking at it. 
" Well," she said, " if I am as round shouldered as that I shall have 
my sink and table made higher." 

Practical suggestions have been made on children's clothing, which 
is durable, easily made, and easily laundered. This has been espe- 
cially useful when it included short cuts in the use of the sewing 
machine and its attachments. 

Eural women have welcomed an explanation and practical applica- 
tion of such principles of color and design as have enabled them to 
choose from among stocks offered in the local store or in near-by 
towns materials, designs, or ready-made garments and hats suited to 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. H 

features, figures, and coloring, and giving better satisfaction for 
money expended than those hitherto secured. 

Instruction in the making of simple hats for women and children 
has been in demand, and this project also has been satisfactorily- 
carried on through local leadership in a number of States with good 
results. This is the second year of millinery work in Idaho, and 
the State leader reports that the women have gained sufficient skill 
to construct almost any type of hat needed (Fig. 3), Some of the 




Fig. o. — A dibplay ot lioinemade liats. 

women may not, of course, continue to make their hats, but the 
instruction received will aid them greatly in selecting hats or re- 
modeling them for wear a second season. The total number of hats 
made in Idaho was 3,638, the saving being estimated at over $19,000. 
The following table shows each phase of the clothing project and 
the extent to which it was made a part of the extension program,' 
including work in terms of demonstrations established. The total 
saving as a result of the clothing project is estimated at $752,167. 

Results of clothing loorh. 



Eastern. Central, 



Western. Total 



Persons taught by local women 

New garments made 

Garments remodeled 

Garments dry cleaned 

Patterns cut 

Dress forms made 

Total estimated saving 

Families reporting results 

New hats made 

Hats remodeled 

Total saving in hats 



13,361 
18,199 
7,887 
1,322 
16,735 
16,722 
$189,004 
11,487 
10,629 
5,221 
$68,328 



18,965 
8,122 
2,118 
5,774 
22, 401 
$252,593 
9,248 
1,967 
1,580 
$15, 187 



10, 942 

8,022 

7,230 

824 

10'648 
$155, 106 



4,287 
$71,949 



47,941 
45,186 
23,239 
4,264 
26,408 
49,771 

$596,703 
30,223 
21,644 
11,088 

$155,464 



12 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Results of clothing work — Continued. 



Selection of clothing and textiles: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices. 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 

Garment making: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices. 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 

Renovating: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices. 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 

Millinery: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices. 

Project leaders. . _ 

Demonstrations established 

Dress forms: 

Cormties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 



Eastern. 


Central. 


Western. 


34 


55 


21 


426 


433 


150 


463 


615 


102 


979 


4,236 


607 


57 


74 


48 


863 


565 


456 


1,179 


647 


541 


3,737 


5,630 


4,233 


35 


30 


19 


257 


157 


127 


169 


244 


120 


600 


1,034 


556 


70 


55 


50 


918 


392 


498 


512 


350 


668 


2,659 


4,023 


4,256 


66 


100 


64 


• 1,058 


1,458 


650 


1,035 


3,191 


779 


5,504 


14,376 


7,021 



110 
1,009 
1,179 
5,822 

179 
1,884 
2,367 
13,600 

84 

541 

533 

2,190 

175 
1,808 
1,430 
10,838 

220 
3,166 
5,005 
26,901 



HOME MANAGEMENT. 

Home management work was adopted in 1,411 communities, with 
931 project leaders, who succeeded in securing 5,938 demonstrations. 
California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, New York, and Washington led in 
the number of communities including home management in their 
programs. Better methods of presentation are evident, followed by 
an increase in the, demand for the work. Although fewer water 
systems were installed than in 1920, good work was done in the re- 
arrangement of kitchens and testing out of the less expensive types of 
equipment. On the whole, there is indication that farm women are 
giving more thought than ever before to the business of housekeep- 
ing with an increased use of modern equipment. 

Results of home management work. 



Eastern. Central 



Families securing: 

Washing machines 

Fireless cookers — 

Commercial 

Homemade 

Pressure steam cookers 

Power machines for home use. 
Families installing water systems. 

FamiUes rearranging kitchens 

Estimated number of hours labor f 
FamiUes keeping expense record. . 

FamiUes making budget : . 

FamiUes changing ways of Uring. . 



330 

148 

1,037 

297 

131 



744 
45 
57 
42 
136,749 

554 



350 
1,672 
1,641 



478 
485 



In Washington and several other States testing circles are being 
used to acquaint housewives with the labor and time saving value 
of moderately priced equipment, such as bread mixers, hand and 
motor vacuum cleaners, pressure cookers, fireless cookers, and a. 
number of smaller cooking and cleaning utensils. A testing circle 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 13 

usually consists of from six to a dozen members with a leader. In 
the State of Washington 86 per cent of the equipment tried out in 
the testing circles was thus placed in homes. 

In organizing kitchen tours in Hillsborough County, N. H., ques- 
tionnaires were sent out by the project leader asking for informa- 
tion on labor-saving equipment in the homes. Replies were received 
from 75 per cent of the people receiving the questionnaires. These 
replies were examined by the project leader and home demonstra- 
tion agent, and equipment to be shown the women was decided upon. 
The project leader made arrangements with the owners of the 
equipment for the visits. Six homes were visited each day and 
the points covered were heating, lighting, plumbing, convenient 




Fig. 4. — ^A demonstration in the installation of a farm home water system. 

equipment, and efficient kitchen, as well as a combination kitchen- 
dining room. 

In Missouri a campaign for the installation of water in the home 
was organized around the " home convenience truck," equipped and 
run by the extension service in rural engineering. This truck visited 
seven home demonstration counties and gave demonstrations at farm 
homes, schoolhouses, churches, and farm picnics in setting up and 
operating a farm home water system, beginning with running water 
in the kitchen (Fig. 4). Home demonstration agents assisted in 
giving preliminary publicity and in locating persons who wished to 
install simple or more elaborate water systems. From these seven 
counties the installation of 42 water systems was reported. 

The State leader of home demonstration agents in Oregon made 
the statement in her report that the test of comfort in a modern home 



14 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

is whether there is running water in the house. Frequently, she said, 
it seemed necessary to advocate the use of small articles which make 
work easier in order to get the women interested in planning for 
the larger and more expensive water system. Therefore time spent 
in stimulating interest and helping women to get labor-saving de- 
vices, such as tireless cookers, pressure cookers, and dish drainers, is 
not wasted, and the problem of making housework easier is attacked 
in a way that eventually leads to a modern house, including water 
and lighting systems. 

Two home tours were conducted in Indiana in which remodeled, 
well-planned, and well-furnished homes with light and power plants 
were studied. Many conveniences and rearrangements can be made 
without a great expenditure, and the homes were selected with this 
in mind. One hundred light and power plants were reported in- 
stalled as a direct result of the influence of extension work in In- 
diana, but this is not thought to be as important as the fact that 
people are interested in modern conveniences, and when conditions 
are adjusted the State leader feels confident many more homes will 
be equipped with the best that modern science can provide. 

Home management work was carried on in all organized counties 
in New Mexico as a definite piece of work -and to some extent in 
unorganized counties. As a result of this work 28 water systems 
were reported as having been installed. Eighteen home water sys- 
tems were reported installed as a result of home demonstration work 
in Colorado. A conmiunity in Lincoln County, Nev., adopted the 
project of securing a community water system. The population of 
the village was too small to admit of its becoming an incorporated 
town, but the legislature passed a special resolution giving the com- 
munity the right to bond for a water system. The taxpayers were 
reported as having voted to do this and the success of the project is 
thus assured. One of the principal home and community problems 
worked upon this past year in Marathon County, Wis., was the 
securing of labor-saving devices in the home. The project included 
the placing of water and lighting systems in the homes, and re- 
arrangement of kitchens also was stressed. 



To attain better health is the goal of many rural communities, 
where home demonstration agents are cooperating with health 
agencies to this end. The agents' part in the broad health program 
is not work that is remedial or that calls for technical skill but work 
that is preventive and educational, guiding demonstrations in the 
adoption of improved health habits and practices in matters pertain- 
ing to nutrition, clothing, sanitation, home management, and an all- 
around comfortable and healthful home environment. It will be 
noted from the table on page 6, showing a comparative study of 
various projects, that the number of families adopting suggestions in 
connection with the health project during 1921 was nearly four times 
as great as it was during the previous year. 

Work which was started with such activities as clean-up days, 
campaigns for fly control, and safeguarding the water supply as a 
means of eliminating sources of disease has developed a general con- 
sciousness of the importance of health and its relation to efficiency. 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 15 

Home demonstration agents have worked with public heakh and 
Eed Cross nurses in many counties and good results have been secured. 
The most favorable results, however, were secured in States where 
in addition to the public health nurses there was an extension health 
specialist. Though a health campaign conducted in Nebraska by- 
home demonstration agents and specialists in cooperation with other 
agencies, 16,000 health cards were distributed and 33,000 children 
and adults reached. No other movement connected with home 
demonstration work has received heartier cooperation in Nebraska. 

Many home bureaus in Illinois have been responsible for creating, 
a health consciousness in the counties and for the securing of county 
nurses, but in 1921 Tazewell County took the lead in the amount 
of health work done. The specialist met with the advisory council 
to assist them in planning a year's program of work in health. Later 
the specialist conducted eight health schools in the county. Tlie 
health chairmen were responsible for putting on a modern health 
crusade in the schools of the county. The report of results shows 
that 2,000 children completed the work of the crusade, which was an 
effective piece of work carried on by local leaders. The State leader 
of home demonstration work in Rhode Island organized health work 
in an isolated community. Many of the women were not familiar 
with simple rules of first aid and during the winter medical assistance 
was often unable to reach the community for weeks at a time. The 
work included corrective diets, methods of rest and recreation, per- 
sonal hygiene, and sanitation. 

Results of health work. 



Persons adopting improved health habits 

Sanitary septic tanks installed 

Appliances installed: 

Plumbing 

Sinks 

Screens 

Persons securing home medicine chests. . . 

Women enroUed for prenatal care 

Community nurses employed 

Child care: 

Counties adopting practices : 

Communities adopting practices 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 

Home nursing: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 

Sanitation: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations estabUshed 



6, 545 
100 



101 

84 
82 
205 

7 

20 

170 

228 

1,507 

37 
226 
112 
538 

15 
114 



210 
596 
662 
194 



798 

887 

10,045 



418 
276 



45 

277 

211 

1,547 



FOOD PRODUCTION. 

Poultry. — Poultry work was among the good income-producing 
activities in a number of States, with an estimated value of $600,000 
in chickens raised, eggs produced, and nonproductive hens eliminated. 
This project proved particularly valuable in those States where farm 
crops could not be marketed to advantage and where the monthly 
check from the sale of eggs and poultry carried many families over 



16 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

difficult times and made possible desired improvements "in the farm 
homes. The poultry project started three years ago in Canyon 
County, Idaho, has resulted in an excellent marketing association. 
Poultry clubs have been so successful in one county in Connecticut 
that more are on the program for 1922, and other counties are also 
becoming interested in starting the work. A woman reported at a 
county meeting that as a result of the work of the adult poultry club 
in her community the farm income had been increased $500. 

In many States the work carried on by women was directed by 
county agricultural agents and specialists from the college. Minne- 
sota and South Dakota, however, have women poultry specialists 
giving attention to barnyard flocks handled by girls and women on 
the farm. As a result of the previous work of poultry specialists 
and extension agents in the training of local leaders for the culling 
of flocks, culling is now carried on almost entirely by local people, 
freeing the time of the workers for demonstrations along such other 
phases of poultry work as housing, breeding, incubation, study of 
poultry diseases, methods of increasing egg production, and market- 
ing of poultry products. 

One instance of the change in culling work was reported from 
Kalamazoo County, Mich., where only one-third as many poultry- 
culling demonstration schools were held in 1921 as in 1920. The 
State leader interprets this as showing more independence on the 
part of the people and not lack of interest. The people are doing 
their own culling and the work that is done by the home demon- 
stration agent is in new communities. The home demonstration 
agent often heard it stated that people were taking more interest 
in poultry since they had learned methods of building up the flock 
to a higher standard of egg production. 

Dairying. — Although studies made in many counties prove that 
the milk supply available for country children is inadequate, reports 
show a decrease in the volume of work done along lines of dairying, 
as only 23 counties reported dairying activities as a part of home 
demonstration work during 1921. 

Cheese making was carried on in Wyoming and some other West- 
ern States where low prices paid for butter fat during summer 
months made this desirable as a means of preserving the milk 
supply. Most of the cheese was used on the family table. How- 
ever, it proved profitable when sold. It was estimated that the 
amount of cheese reported as being made in three Western States 
was worth $8,000. 

Gardening. — Gardening projects were carried on in a number of 
States. Among many interesting accounts of gardening work re- 
ported were two from Arizona and North Dakota. In Arizona, 
following the food demonstrations for greater use of vegetables in 
the family diet, stress was placed on the economy and thrift of home 
production. The goal was that every farm garden produce sufficient 
vegetables for the family in season and for storage out of season. 
In a climate that permits of the all-year garden this project is con- 
sidered to have possibilities of great value as a means toward health 
and thrift. The home demonstration agents in Divide and Williams 
Counties, N. Dak., had groups working on gardening as a means of 
providing sufficient green vegetables to insure a balanced ration. 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 17 

These counties are in the drought-stricken section of the State where 
crops have been unsuccessful for several years and where it has been 
somewhat difficult for farmers' wives to furnish balanced rations for 
their families. 

FOOD PRESERVATION. 

While demonstrations in methods of canning of fruits and vege- 
tables have decreased or been practically eliminated from the pro- 
gram of many home demonstration agents as this activity has been 
taken over by the local people, there is still need, which is in a meas- 
ure being met, for information along lines of canning and curing 
meats, drying fruits and vegetables, and storing food products from 
the home garden and orchard, with emphasis upon a food budget 
which considers the supply of food laid aAvay in season from the 
standpoint of a balanced diet the year around. 

One phase of home demonstration work reported as of equal in- 
terest to both men and women in Meade County, Kans., was that of 
meat canning and the use of the pressure cooker for this purpose. 
Nineteen pressure cookers were in use in the county in 1921, while 
in 1919 there was but one. Over 4,000 quarts of meat, representing 
10,000 pounds, including various cuts of beef and pork, sausages, 
chicken, and soups, w^ere canned to be used during harvest time, and 
it was reported that probably one-half of the harvest laborers in the 
county ate meat from glass jars during the summer of 1921. At 
prevailing retail prices, the meat canned was valued at $2,000. In- 
sistence by the home demonstration agent on the use of standard 
containers, new jar lids and rubbers, and strict adherence to the 
United States Department of Agriculture canning bulletins has 
i-esulted in this enterprise being practically 100 per cent efficient. 
Vegetables and fruits amounting to nearly 1.500 quarts also were 
reported canned in Meade County. 

The following table shows the amount of work done in food 
preservation during the year, the total value of the products pre- 
served being estimated at $811,998. 

Results of food preservation work. 



Families reporting 

Canned fruits, quarts 

Jellies and jams, quarts 

Dried fruits, pounds 

Canned vegetables, quarts 

Brined vegetables, quarts 

Dried vegetables, pounds 

Value of fru: ts and vegetables 

Poultry canned, quarts 

Beef, pork, and other meats preserved, pounds 

Lard made, pounds 

Value of poultry, meats, and lard 

Eggs preserved, dozens 

Value of eggs 



Eastern. 


Central. 


Western. 


4,227 


2,757 


1,945 


196, SOO 


256, 775 


180,686 


55, 643 


37, 1.S7 


■ 37, 660 


1,196 


1,986 


7,290 


140, 661 


107, 968 


89, 193 


28, 653 


6,019 


9.735 


2,531 


4,205 


6, 305 


S14S, 226 


$179, 152 


$189, 883 


7,157 


4,353 


6,547 


180, 560 


560, 081 


198, 084 


19, 706 


154, 087 


31,012 


S54, 104 


$119,803 


$66. 409 


8,306 


94, 544 


7,761 


$4, 330 


$46, 540 


$3. 551 



634, 261 
130, 490 

10, 472 
337,822 

44,407 

13,041 
S517, 261 

18, 057 
938, 725 
204, 805 
$240, 316 
110,611 
$54,421 



HOUSE PLANNING AND FURNISHING. 



Work in home furnishing and the improvement of grounds was 
carried on in 483 communities, as indicated in the table on page 6, 
showing a comparative study of various projects. 



18 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Regarding the home furnishing demonstration in San Diego 
County, Calif., the State leader reported that seven centers chose the 
subject in the spring of 1921. In order to carry on the work as a 
real home demonstration, it was suggested that the method of " locat- 
ing demonstrations " be adopted as is done in county agent work. 
The plan was indorsed by the county committee and a simple project 
was drawn up. This provided for the choosing of two living rooms 
in each farm home department center to be located as demonstrations, 
the rooms to be redecorated according to plans agreed upon by the 
specialist and local demonstrators. Both men and women acted in 
this capacity, indicating the interest of the entire family in the 
project. Demonstration meetings attended by all interested persons 
were first held in these rooms. Twenty-seven different families were 
present at the meetings at the demonstration homes to observe prog- 
ress, and suggestions were adopted by 43 families in the communities, 
which shows the spread of influence. At one meeting 125 people 
were present, and 20 automobiles were in line as they went from home 
to home. The homes in which the demonstrations were held were 
modest in character, the demonstrators were working people in mod- 
erate circumstances, the suggestions made by the specialist entailed 
small expense to the demonstrators, and the changes made in the 
homes as a result of the demonstrations were simple and inexpensive, 
but were of a kind to materially increase the commercial value of 
the homes. 

This demonstration in home furnishing in San Diego County is 
worthy of special attention, as it shows the possibilities of a well- 
organized home demonstration activity which has been outlined to 
fit the needs of the community. 

It was reported from New Mexico that 18 new houses were planned 
and 35 remodeled with the assistance of home demonstration agents. 
In addition, 25 single rooms were remodeled and 18 houses and 28 
single rooms redecorated. The agents also gave information on land- 
scape gardening to owners of 131 homes. 

Results of house planning and furnishing work. 



Eastern. Central. Western. 



(new) , 

Houses remodeled 

Single rooms remodeled 

Homes redecorated and furnished 

Single rooms redecorated , 

Landscape gardening 

Trees planted 

Shrubs planted , 

Flowers planted , 

Building and remodeling: 

Counties adopting practices 

Communities adopting practices. 

Project leaders , 

Demonstrations established 

Decorating and fiurnishing: 

Counties adopting practices 

Commimities adopting practices. 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations established 

Planning home groimds: 

Counties adopting practices , 

Communities adopting practices. 

Project leaders 

Demonstrations estabhshed 



48 

67 

165 

1,496 

1,238 

44,000 

11 
47 
26 
42 

14 
64 



354 
1,810 
1,716 
48,406 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 19 

COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES. 

The influence of home demonstration work in the civic and social 
life and standards of the community has been marked in many in- 
stances. Activities have been carried on which have not only proved 
of interest to the entire family group but have aroused and developed 
community consciousness as well. This consciousness has found ex- 
pression in community trading centers, recreation centers, libraries, 
rest rooms, and State and county fairs. The reports cite many in- 
stances of neighbors joining together in a project, accepting responsi- 
bility and leadership. 

In the belief that farm people need to smile and to get acquainted 
with their neighbors as much as they need to know the latest facts 
about tractors or a new recipe for cooking, the New York home 
bureaus arrange for recreation of many varieties. Community 
parties, banquets, picnics, plays, community singing, and even 
pageantry have been organized to reach not only the farm and home 
bureau members, but all who desire to attend, there being an open- 
door policy in all their community work. There are three perma- 
nent community kitchens, as centers for information on better house- 
keeping; four summer canning kitchens, two thrift shops, and six 
thrift exchanges that are being successfully operated as a result of 
the activities of home bureau women. Through these exchanges and 
shops in New York, home makers are able to turn into money the 
by-products of their industry without neglecting their housekeeping 
duties. 

A town in Williams County, N. Dak., has a public market day. 
The county agricultural agent was active in establishing the market 
where farmers may sell the produce of their farms, and the home 
demonstration agent has been instrumental in interesting the women 
in bringing their garden and dairy products to be disposed of at the 
market. In this way the women receive better prices than formerly. 

Home demonstration agents in their work in Montana during 1921 
gave first consideration to projects which emphasized the practical 
things of life and were economic in value, but an effort also was 
made to increase community activities, community recreation, beauti- 
fication of home and community grounds, and to help in building a 
strong citizenship and an improved civilization. 

SPECIALISTS. 

It is not possible to discuss adequately the results of home demon- 
stration work without taking into account the part played by the 
specialists. Such results are the product of good team work be- 
tween the agent and the specialist. A study of home demonstration 
agent reports shows that outstanding results on a state-wide scale 
in any single project have almost invariably been dependent upon 
the counsel and assistance of an ef&cient specialist. 

The home demonstration agent, whose continuous contact with 
the people makes it possible for her to understand intimately their 
needs and problems, is able to organize for the work, watch its 
progress, and see that it is rounded out and completed. She is, 
however, by the nature of her training and service, an organizer, 
not a specialist. Hence the importance of strong extension special- 



20 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

ists in the various phases of home economics to help the agent and 
her project leaders to diagnose the needs of the county and to sug- 
gest, out of their more thorough training in special subjects and 
their State-wide experience and observation, clear-cut plans for pre- 
senting the work, clarifying its aims, organizing and supervising 
home demonstrations, and collecting data of results. 

During 1921 there were at work in the 33 Northern and Western 
States 79 full-time specialists in various branches of home eco- 
nomics. In addition, there were vacancies to be filled, specialists 
on leave of absence, or specialists listed as district agents to the 
number of 9, making a total for the 33 Northern and Western States 
.of 88 specialists. Of these, 3 were classed as directors of specialists, 




Fig. 5.- — A training school for local leaders. 



28 as specialists in food and nutrition, 30 in clothing and house 
furnishing, 13 in home management, 5 in home health and sanitation, 
2 women poultry specialists, 2 junior specialists, and 5 general home 
economics specialists. 

The recent expansion of the field of home economics specialists' 
work is brought out by the fact that 10 of the 30 clothing specialists, 
7 of the 28 nutrition specialists, and 5 of the 13 home management 
specialists entered the work after July 1, 1921. 

An important service rendered by the specialists during 1921 was 
the training of groups of local leaders. (Fig. 5.) The groups were 
limited in number, usually from 8 to 15 people, but supplied suffi- 
ciently intensive training and drill in practical work and in leader- 
ship methods to enable the leaders to return to their communities 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 21 

and demonstrate to a small group of neighbors what they had been 
taught. 

Two specialist conferences of marked value were held in 1921, 
one at Ithaca, N. Y., October 17, and the other at St. Paul, Minn., 
October 31. The nutrition project was chosen for consideration at 
these conferences, because it was already outstanding and rapidly 
increasing in importance. 

The influence of these conferences can already be seen in a tend- 
ency on the part of specialists to emphasize the acquiring of right 
food habits by adults and children; to stress the raising of an ade- 
quate garden and to make and live up to a food-preservation budget 
that will supply the needed vegetables and fruits all the year around ; 
to introduce home demonstrations in the practical application of the 
principles of nutrition; and to use local leadership to a greater 
extent. 

In previous years the home economics specialist was encouraged 
to devote most of her time to work in counties employing home 
demonstration agents, but in the past two years the tendency has 
been to do an increasing amount of work in counties which had no 
home demonstration agents, but which had agricultural or club 
agents. While in such counties it is frequently more difficult to select 
suitable local leaders for training groups than in home demonstra- 
tion agent counties, a surprisingly large proportion of the clothing 
and millinery work was handled through local leaders in 1921, and 
there is an increasing tendency to use this method in other projects. 

As in previous years, home economics specialists helped to lay 
plans, prepare subject matter, and train volunteer leaders for vari- 
ous lines of girls' club work, and they cooperated with other special- 
ists, as, for example, with horticultural specialists in gardening and 
fruit growing, with dairy specialists in milk campaigns (Fig. 6), 
with rural engineering specialists in home planning, and with farm 
management specialists in farm and home accounts. 

WORK WITH BOYS AND GIRLS. 

Young people of the communities have taken an active part in the 
unified program and boys' and girls' club work has been in many 
instances closely correlated with the other work of the home. This 
has been especially true where county club agents have been employed 
to devote their full time to club work. In other counties home 
demonstration agents have given what help they could in supervising 
the girls' work and, conversely, county club agents have been of 
service in the women's work in counties where home demonstration 
agents were not employed. This unifying of effort has resulted not 
only in increased volume of work but in unity of purpose. 

Reports indicate that the time consumed by agents in directing the 
work of boys and girls has diminished, but that there has been a 
marked increase in the number of women trained as local leaders. 
Assistance has been given by agents in training these leaders and in 
cooperating with the State club leader in planning the year's pro- 
gram and in giving guidance to the work. 

Annual reports show that of the 4,221 communities which adopted 
one or more projects, 801 included work with boys and girls. The 
principal lines were garment work, food work, and own-your-own- 



22 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

room clubs. One of the most interesting of the groups in work in 
home accounting and equipment for the organization of household 
work in Pennsylvania was that of a club of girls who kept personal 
accounts. .In connection with the accounts they had discussions on 
how to apportion and use their money for food, clothing, recreation, 
books, etc. Several States reported that the interest created by the 
girls in their club work had stimulated activity with men and women. 
In one particular instance an active garment-making club resulted 
in a community program of work for men, women, and juniors where 
previously it had been difficult to create interest. There was an in- 
crease in 1921 of 40 per cent in the total number of club members 
enrolled who completed their work. 




A window demonstration in an Ohio milk campaign. 



URBAN WORK. 

Agricultural colleges in seven States cooperated during 1921 with 
city organizations in maintaining home demonstration work. The 
11 cities where agents were employed and fine service rendered were 
as follows : Council Bluffs, Iowa ; Holyoke and Quincy, Mass. ; Du- 
luth and Minneapolis, Minn. ; Paterson, N. J. ; Salt Lake City, Utah ; 
Spokane, Wash. ; and Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester, N. Y., 
Rochester coming forward with a $10,000 budget to start the work. 

This work, supported entirely by State and local funds, has proved 
of real value to city women. Better use of the income ; supplementary 
food for undernourished school children; learning how to prepare 
food economically and attractively, to market, to buy ready-made 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, i92t. 23 

clothing, to choose a hmch for the business woman, to test textiles, 
and what equipment to buy; and supplementing the income by hand- 
work at home are a few of the many problems which have been met 
for the individual housekeeper. 

Probably no other public agency has been more fruitful in break- 
ing down artificial barriers and providing a common meeting ground 
for country and city women than urban home demonstration work. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF HOME DEMONSTRATION WORKERS. 

Wliile home demonstration work is a challenge to the best talent, 
training, and character among women educators, because of its op- 
portunity for service and its professional future, the supply of 
workers has scarcely kept up with the demand. One main reason 
for this is that the work calls for peculiar training and experience 
not posse-ssed by all who might be attracted to the field. This is 
illustrated by the following general statement of qualifications which 
would ideally meet the requirements : 

Women 25 years of age or older, with degrees of bachelor of science in home 
economics, in agriculture, or in related subject matter; with successful 
experience in teaching or other lines, to prove leadership and organizing 
ability are desired ; mature judgment, deep sympathies, and genuine under- 
standing of practical problems of the rural home and community ; a good 
speaking presence and voice; and a broad sociological background are all valu- 
able assets. Women are preferred who have been brought up in the country 
and have graduated from land-grant colleges, thus developing a keen apprecia- 
tion of the problems of the farm home as well as a keen enjoyment and the love 
of rural life and being able to help farm men and women to plan and carry out 
programs of work which will raise standards of living and help to unify and 
organize forces for the enrichment and stabilizing of country life. 

The average salary of home demonstration agents during 1921 
was $2,085. Of this, $1,416 was paid from Federal and State funds 
and $669 from county funds. The maximum salar}- paid any home 
demonstration agent was $2,400; the minimum, $1,000. 

Professional standards for the workers in this field are constantly 
being raised as the work expands and becomes crystallized into an 
established phase of education, with a professional future and out- 
look. The majority of home demonstration agents now employed 
are women reared in an agricultural environment who understand 
and can therefore appreciate the problems, responsibilities, and op- 
portunities of the farm woman. 

A study made of the training of 217 home demonstration agents 
employed during 1921 indicated that 151 had attended agricultural 
colleges and that 113 of these had received bachelor degrees, 6 secur- 
ing master degrees. Sixty -three of the agents had attended agricul- 
tural colleges within the States in which they were working. Of 
the agents attending agricultural colleges 91 had also attended other 
colleges and normal schools, receiving 22 bachelor degrees and 2 
master degrees. Agents who attended colleges and schools other 
than agricultural colleges received 26 bachelor degrees and 1 master 
degree. Wliile the requirements vary in the States, increasing care 
is taken to secure women of adequate training. 

Heads of home economics departments are meeting their respon- 
sibility in the development of home demonstration work by organiz- 
ing and offering special courses so coordinated with the agricultural 
and other departments as to give students adequate subject matter. 



24 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

Added to this, in some cases State leaders have supervised suck 
cadet experience in county work as is deemed necessary to equip 
students for this service. 

ADVANCEMENT OF THE WORK. 

Judging the home demonstration work during 1921 by goals set, 
forces available, and methods used there is evidence on every hand 
that workers have been efficient, progress has been made, and ex- 
penditure of public funds for this purpose justified. 

It is believed that figures quoted in the tables here given are more 
nearly accurate than in former years, due to the fact that reports 
have been made in more orderly form — by projects rather than 
by communities — and that local women have given more generous 
service in collecting data than ever before. It is not possible, how- 
ever, to measure the status of this work as efficiency in production 
and values of farm crops may be measured. In work such as this, 
which deals with improvement of health, greater contentment, fuller 
individual and community experience, and the vitalization of all 
country life, where the human equation is paramount, only a per- 
spective can be gained. The perspective of the home demonstration 
work in 1921 indicates a gradual enrichment of rural conditions 
through the rise of standards all along the line. 

The principle of local leadei'ship is recognized as a cardinal factor 
in the work. It implies not only accomplishment on certain projects 
but general development of community initiative and teamwork 
and is accepted by the home demonstration agents as they see the 
life and vigor it puts into the work. Practically every State has 
made definite plans for training groups of local people to extend 
subject matter, supervise demonstrations, and collect data on results. 

As the home demonstration agent's work progresses and crystal- 
lizes into a system of service she attempts more and more to study 
local conditions. The effort of home demonstration agents to study 
local conditions, to base their work on community needs, and to guide 
farm women themselves into active participation in determining and 
shaping projects to be undertaken has been more successful this year 
than ever before. With systematic steps of procedure and with goals 
defined home demonstration agents are guiding more than leading 
in home and community activities and are attaching increased im- 
portance to the selection of local women leaders, choice being based 
upon ability and willingness to lead, belief in the project under- 
taken, and a certain amount of skill and facility in the particular 
line of work at hand. 

Progress has been made during the past year toward cementing 
the interest of all the people through a common program of work 
in which the home demonstration agent's part has been more effective 
because tempered with the viewpoint of other workers, as each has 
contributed to the service as a whole. 

Recognition is increasingly given to the leadership of farm women. 
Rural organizations through which extension work functions are 
placing women on executive committees, depending upon their 
leadership in membership campaigns, and recognizing women's 
power in guiding home projects. By this means many counties with- 
out home demonstration agents are able to carry on work of great 



status and Results of Home Demonstration Work, 1921. 25 

value to the home through the support and encouragement given to 
women leaders by the home economics specialist and the county agri- 
cultural agent. Where home economics projects are thus carried on 
they have paved the way for the later introduction of home demon- 
stration work. 

County appropriations are increasing in amount, showing that the 
local people take pride in the work and are willing to assume respon- 
sibility for it. 

The function of the specialist is better understood and her rela- 
tionship to the community program is better worked out, resulting 
in her having a definite part in supervising her project from the 
State college office. More definite goals of achievement are set, these 
goals being in terms of improved processes. 

The academic program is making way for one based upon work 
and community conditions with the united community program. 
There is a more frank recognition of the fact that all the work, in 
its last analysis, is for the purpose of building up a good farm 
home, which is the center of farm life. There is an increased number 
of projects having a common interest for the whole family. 

Demonstrations are becoming increasingly practical, and it is 
realized more fully than before that the value of the agent's work 
lies wholly in her ability to establish good home practices in keeping 
with the economic and social needs of the families and communities 
served. No matter how far-reaching her ultimate goal, the approach 
of the successful home demonstration agent is simple, practical, and 
but one step in advance of the present practices of the home maker, 
and her subject matter is so chosen as to lend itself well to the 
simplest types of demonstration. 

While there are still many counties throughout the Northern and 
Western States that know little of the work of the home demonstra- 
tion agent, her systematic service has improved farm home conditions 
in many communities, as is testified to by thousanjis of home makers. 

Home demonstration work has from the beginning sustained an 
important relationship to the extension service as a whole, helping to 
secure and establish a reasonable balance between extension work 
which has to do with production and that which has to do with the 
higher values of farm and home life. It has increased efficiency and 
improved the economic status of farming, but its principal mission 
has been to help men and women who are building the home life of 
rural America to provide in the country those living conditions which 
should be available for every farm family and community. 



26 Department Circular 285, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 




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